"An honest politician is one who, when he is bought, will stay bought."
Simon Cameron
(Kansas City Star) - Businesses tied to U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill’s husband have been awarded more than $131 million in federal subsidies since the Missouri Democrat took office in 2007, an analysis by The Kansas City Star found.
Joseph Shepard’s personal income from his investments in those businesses has grown exponentially during his wife’s two terms in the Senate.
The federal payments don’t go directly into Shepard’s pocket. Most of the money goes toward operating costs for government-subsidized housing projects Shepard is invested in. Those companies then distribute the profits to Shepard and other investors.
In 2006, the year before McCaskill entered the Senate, her husband’s personal income from those investments was between $1,608 and $16,731, according to the senator’s financial disclosure forms.
In 2017, five years into McCaskill’s second term, Shepard personally earned between $365,374 and $1,118,158 from investments in housing projects that received federal subsidies, the disclosure forms show. Disclosure forms only provide ranges of income.
The analysis showed that businesses Shepard is invested in are getting more federal awards, a fraction of which Shepard receives as personal income. Projects affiliated with Shepard were awarded $62 million in McCaskill’s first term and $69 million in her second term, for a total of more than $131 million.
Based on the data, it appears that a growing percentage of Shepard’s personal earnings come from new businesses he has invested in that are receiving federal awards, primarily rural rental assistance through the USDA. The federal payments are meant to make up the difference between the rent low-income residents can pay and market rates for comparable housing in the area.
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